#73. Learn how to bake Red Velvet cupcakes from scratch

Last night, Dan and I had dinner with a potential small group (see #89)… it was a potluck dinner at one of the couple’s houses, and we were asked to bring dessert. Dan wanted to make this amazing strawberry cake we had a couple weeks ago at our friend Kendra’s birthday party, but I didn’t have the recipe, and while Dan was willing to make it up, I had been reviewing my 101 in 1001 list to see what things I could cross off, and I remembered that I wanted to learn how to make Red Velvet cupcakes… So, with how the weekend played out, and the fact that I had nearly all the ingredients for the cupcakes already, we went with the cupcakes…

I feel kind of silly that I decided to stay inside and bake cupcakes on an 80 degree beautiful summer day, I mean, who stays inside and heats up the house with the oven in the summer? After I was all done, I thought, I should have done something cool and summery like ice cream or fresh fruit, but neither of those things are on my 101 list, so that never would have worked. Besides, if you didn’t know this about me before, learn it now… I. Love. Cupcakes. A LOT.

I googled some Red Velvet recipes and learned a few things… first of all, Red Velvet cupcakes are actually chocolate cupcakes. Okay, maybe I’m the last person on earth to learn this, but I never knew it! I don’t know if the red color threw me off, or the fact that it’s a very slight chocolate taste and can sometimes be hidden by the tasty cream cheese frosting or what, but this was news to me. Feel free to chime in if you never knew this either! Anyone? Some one could just pretend not to have known this so I don’t feel so silly.

Second, there are a variety of different recipes and variations of Red Velvet cake, which I didn’t think was possible… some recipes use buttermilk, some vinegar, some both, some neither, some use red food coloring, others do not… I read about 6 or 7 different recipes and went with the one that had the most positive reviews. The first recipe I stumbled upon was Paula Deen’s Red Velvet recipe, which almost every reviewer said, were way too greasy… what a surprise! Another thing I learned/realized, is that you can probably only make Red Velvet cake/cupcakes from scratch (has anyone seen a box mix?!) because most recipes call for vinegar or buttermilk or red food coloring. Which I guess could be added to a dry mix, but that might take the simplicity of a box mix to a level that Betty Crocker and Pillsbury just aren’t prepared for.

Thirdly, in the olden days, before food coloring, Red Velvet cake was red because of the chemical reaction of vinegar and cocoa powder. And here you were thinking Red Velvet was just a trendy new dessert!!  One more thing I learned was that, if you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute with a lemon juice/milk mixture or a white vinegar/milk mixture. The chemical reaction produces a more muted reddish-brown color, which has since been brightened up with red food coloring.

I bet you had no idea my blog was going to be so educational!